Fallen Themes
by mirrors-never-lie
Summary: Day 1- Cinder gets symbolic. Kaider. Day 2- Spying on Iko? Day 3- Thorne admits his feelings to Cress (a popular topic, but I tried making it different) and uses mythology to explain. Day 6- Wolflet AU- at a beach. Wolf's brother and Cress are included. LAST DAY- Levana and Cinder Revolution. These are going to be popular, but I added in a weird twist-you'll see.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is my submission for Day One of the Fall theme for the TLC shipweeks. Sorry for not finishing my Beginning of the New Generation story and starting this new one...I plan to finish that soon.**

 **Sorry for the long length of this- if you don't have a lot of time, I suggest reading parts of it up to where the line breaks are. R &R. **

Fallen Ashes With Leaves

 _Ashes, ashes..._

They watched a crumpled leaf flutter helplessly to the ground, nestling into the commercial-looking, green grass. The vibrancy of auburn, sunshine, and pumpkin hues flourished on the towering trees. After staying in Luna for two months, ruling a rather stressful yet intriguing reign as queen, she was accustomed to the rather plain scenery, and Earth was giving her old memories of seasons. Cool, harsh winds struck Cinder's face like salt water, and she was sure that there were leaves and twigs stuck in her mousy ponytail.

"I don't get it." She stared off into space, trying to get a grip on her frenzied thoughts. The leaf that fell was beside her, just begging to be picked up. Cinder got a hold of it, twirling it by its little, fragile stem.

"Well, it's gravity. The leaf fell because gravity on Earth causes matter to-"

"You know what I mean." He stared at her for a second before looking at her hands. "She did this to me," Cinder said, raising her metal joints that she swore to never glamour, "for a reason." Shrugging, Kai ran his fingers roughly through his hair- a tic that had gotten worse over time.

"It's no coincidence, you're right about that one. The fire incidents," he sighed. "But her death was deserved," reassured Kai. He broke out of his sitting position and by laying down beside her onto the soft grass, ripping and shredding bits of it.

"We won the revolution, which was good enough. But why? Why did she try to kill me _that_ way, after she was almost killed that _same_ way? Two months have passed since I saw the real her, and here I am, visiting Earth. Thinking about _why_ she still stars in my nightmares. "

"You really have thought about this."

"Of course," she huffed. He held her hand- her titanium one- and they lay side by side for a while. Kai reached out to brush away her hair, and he planted a soft kiss on her forehead, confusing her worried thoughts and transforming them into happy ones.

"Kai," she mumbled. "Not now." Cinder made a weak attempt at batting his hands away.

"Why not?" His lips, warm like honey, trailed across her head.

"I'm trying to figure this out, but you're distracting me."

"Distracting?" he mused. His fingers played with the collar of her plain, staid t-shirt. Eventually, she sighed, letting his will overcome her. Her heart fluttered and the butterflies- more like bulls- stampeded around in the lower part of her throat, despite the hundreds of kisses they had shared before. As always, his mouth was soft like fluffy feathers, and once their lips connected, Cinder couldn't help herself. They intertwined their arms together, embracing tightly while kissing. Their lips dovetailed like a perfect puzzle piece match and melted like steamy butter.

* * *

He looked so peaceful, asleep like a baby in her arms. She smoothed out his floppy bangs and tufts of black hair. _Beautiful._ So unlike her. Like an impeccably carved, chiseled statue or a knight in shining armor.

 _Her_ knight in shining armor. He choose to be with her, and even though it bewildered Cinder sometimes, he did love her. And she hoped that maybe one day she would become empress of New Beijing instead of being stuck on Luna as a queen. Although the reign as queen was fascinating and the government system quite different, Cinder detested living on a _rock_ in the sky, so many kilometers away from Kai.

Eventually, her thoughts came into focus, and her aunt came into the picture. It was like a circle- always leading back to Levana and her appalling self. Guilt and remorse gnawed at her flesh, nipping and scratching into her bones. Because Cinder had killed- _killed_ \- Levana. Obviously, everyone was ecstatic- the war was won, the queen was gone...

But, no. No. Not Cinder. Before, the thought of Levana dying made her feel complete and content, but now that it had actually happened, Cinder felt otherwise. Of course, Levana needed to stop what she was doing- there was no doubt about that. But perhaps Levana was once mistreated and forgotten. Perhaps she was once despised and frowned upon, like an ugly duckling. Maybe she felt worthless- a junky magbelt collecting dust and dirt in an alley.

How Cinder felt a year ago. Shivering, Cinder grimaced at the thought about how similar they were.

Cinder recalled the battle she had with her aunt as if it were yesterday. Face to face, alone, struggling, headaches blossoming, slipping minds like sly eels, heavy and deep breathing, fighting to stay alive...Levana. Her face. At the festival at the New Beijing palace (which felt eons ago), Cinder was able to see through her aunt's glamour and discover disfugerments.

But those were only disfigurements- lines showing that the slope of her perfect, ski-slope nose was a bit crooked, her face with some random, squiggly lines on it, her mouth slightly deformed, et cetera.

During the mind war with Levana, Cinder was able to successfully defeat her aunt. But she barely did, mainly because of how shocked she was about her face. Her aunt had to let go of her glamour in the middle of the battle, and her look had pierced Cinder with a crimson, death stare. It was permanently stuck in Cinder's mind, taunting her whenever she felt vulnerable or was deep in slumber. Levana's scars, her burnt scalp with patches of gray and greasy hair, the black marks imprinted all over her body, droopy iron eyes, marred stone cheeks...

It was like a new person. Essentially, it was indeed a new person. Cinder couldn't imagine who had done such an evil, cruel deed to Levana. Did her parents do it to her? Someone else in her family? A jealous aristocrat?

Whoever had committed the crime was terrible and selfish- more so than Levana was herself. And only one factor could have made it possible- fire. Fire and filth, ashes and death, hot coals and pyres and smoke. Cinder knew how it felt, thanks to her aunt, her aunt who went through the same thing.

And somehow she felt bad for her; she pitied the woman who was about to marry and then assassinate Kai. Pitied the woman almost conquered the whole universe.

Which was insane of Cinder, but who wouldn't feel bad for someone who had suffered and undergone _that_? Naturally, Cinder felt that she was to blame for. Maybe if she gave Levana a chance, if she had lived, maybe Levana could redeem herself. She could fix herself and realize that there were other alternatives to the game of life.

Then again, maybe she wouldn't have changed a thing.

Still, Cinder felt fully responsible for Levana's death, even though her friends assisted and played a large role in the revolution. Sighing, Cinder felt herself wonder. Wonder about how it was to pretend to be beautiful and to deceit others...and yourself. Before she knew it, her glamour gears kicked in, and she imagined herself as Levana, Levana with pale skin and huge, honey eyes, wine-colored lips, auburn-flaming hair, and highlighted cheekbones and a sleek body...And no cyborg parts-

No. Cinder halted herself before her whole cyborg hand was covered with snowy skin. This was not right- not herself. Reality came tumbling down to her.

Cinder was a mechanic.

Cinder was a cyborg.

Cinder was Earthen...Lunar.

Cinder was Princess Selene...Queen Selene.

Cinder was not Levana, and although they had some shared qualities, she would never become like her aunt. Never follow those poisonous footsteps. She would let herself pity the dead woman, but nothing else. Cinder was in mid-glamour. Immediately, she shook her head vigorously and let herself flow back to her original appearance. Hopefully nobody from inside of the palace saw a Levana-look alike sitting with a sleeping Kai in the gardens.

That would be horrible, yet rather hilarious to see their reaction.

The forgotten leaf she held about thirty minutes ago was again in her hands, and she began to rip the tip off, until she stopped herself. Maybe Cinder really was insane, but this leaf was almost like her.

If Thorne were here, he'd mock her for relating to a leaf. But she couldn't help it. She studied the insignificant, little leaf. It was crinkly, crumpled, and a dull color. There was already a medium-sized hole in it, and the stem was bent in half, hanging on for dear life. Fallen from a tree, away from everyone, feeling lost and forlorn.

Cinder fell into ashes. And as stupid as the idea of it was, this leaf almost was connected to her. Juvenilely, she began a hunt for more leaves. During her search, Cider constantly kept thinking about how idiotic she was being, but she simply couldn't help herself.

* * *

"Hey, Kai? Kai?" He stirred a bit, rolling around in the grass. The afternoon, bright sky was slowly dripping into a dusk, and cotton-candy hues were swirling with the clouds above.

" _Kai._ Wake up! Hey, you're not dead, right?" she said sarcastically. Cinder shook him again, and this time she screamed into his ear. "KAI!"

He rolled around again and slowly sat up. "Cinder?" He rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?" His expression was adorable and irresistibly cute, and he eyed her arms sleepily and suspiciously; Cinder's hands were behind her back.

"Stars, Kai. You sleep like a baby. Anyway, guess what?" Before he responded, she brought out her hands and fanned out eleven leaves. Kai's eyebrows furrowed.

"What the-"

"Yeah, I know. It's dumb. But I was sort of bored, and I started thinking about how I was like a pathetic leaf-"

"You're not pathetic."

"-and how we are all leaves. Okay, yeah, it's pretty stupid. I don't know what in the world I was thinking." Cinder shrugged uncomfortably as Kai grinned.

"Interesting." He attempted to keep a straight face, but eventually he burst into laughter. Cinder's shoulders sagged a bit. She was being a child. And even Kai knew that.

"Hey, shut up," she said. "I was tired and you were sleeping, and-"

"You're adorable, you know that?" He chuckled again. "I'm laughing because you are smart and symbolic. You're not pathetic," he explained. His eyes crinkled, shining like stars. Cinder bit her lip to keep from snickering.

"Symbolic?"

"Yep."

"I can't tell if that's positive or negative."

"Just show me your leaves," he said, switching the topic. He peered down at her hands with the eleven different leaves. Rolling her eyes, Cinder lifted her arms up to show him.

"Well, for starters..." she cleared her throat. "This brown, plain one is me. Because I am pathetic." Kai looked like he wanted to object, but she shook her head to silence him. "And this golden, flawless one- the one that is brighter than the suns combined- is you. You are my...my sun." Cinder rolled her eyes and was sure a blush would be upon her neck if she was capable of doing so. She witnessed Kai smile one of his genuine, crescent moon smiles. "The dark red one is obviously Scarlet, from her hair and her strong confidence," she went on. "The large, crimson-black one is Wolf. Okay, he's not necessarily a depressed, dark guy, but there are some bits of white on it, which _symbolizes_ his love." She looked up at him, and he nodded for her to continue. "The tiny, light yellow is Cress, not just because of her hair and size, but also because of her shy, happy, and innocent demeanor. Then this one," she smiled, focusing on the light red leaf, "is Thorne. Thorne is full of himself- vain and cocky- yet he has a soft, light side to himself. And the bright tie-dye orange and red and green one is clearly Winter. She's full of energy and a burst of everything. The last one is a light green-yellow, because Jacin can be sour, but he is warm...sometimes." Biting her lip, Cinder looked up at him.

"Idiotic, right?" She placed the leaves down onto her lap and frowned at them.

"Cinder." Kai gently held onto her chin and lifted her head up, forcing her to look into his eyes. "What are the last two?"

"You want me to continue?"

"Of course. This is actually pretty interesting."

"Well, this one is- are you mocking me?"

"No. Why would I?" he grinned.

"Kai," she said.

"I'm joking. C'mon, show me. Please," he said, giving her a desperate, puppy-eyes look. Grumbling, Cinder picked up a circular, light orange leaf. "Iko. An android-shaped leaf, despite her human-appearing, escort-droid shaped body. Light orange for kindness...yet somewhat irritating. The light red, almost pink cherry-blossom one is Peony." Cinder's voice cracked and she cleared it. "Pink for love and warmth, and it was her favorite color, too. And this last one..." Cinder crumpled the brown leaf up.

"Cinder? Who is that?" Kai scooted closer to her, and he scooped her up into his lap.

"Not that important."

"Don't tell me it's Levana," moaned Kai.

"It's not Levana."

"Oh, stars. It is, isn't it?"

"You did tell me to tell you that it wasn't her," she murmured.

"Why are you obsessed with her?" His tone was kind, but the words were somewhat harsh.

"I'm _not_. I just...I don't know. She was misunderstood, and she was probably naïve and lonely." Slowly, Kai unraveled Cinder's taut, titanium fist and fingered the remainders of the Levana leaf.

"It's strikingly similar to yours," he observed. Kai narrowed his eyes.

"I don't look up to her. We're just somewhat alike."

"Cinder, get some rest. You're acting a bit like Winter, and it's scaring me," he teased, but she heard the truth ring beneath his words.

"I'm not tired."

"Cinder. Go to sleep, okay."

" _Kai._ I don't need to get rest right now." Cinder shook her head frustratingly, and the elastic holding her hair fell down. As she groped for the hair tie, Kai gripped her hands tighly.

"I love you." Suddenly out of breath, Cinder glanced up at Kai. He was holding the hair tie, grinning.

"Give me back my hair tie," she managed to say, but it was not threatening at all. Her heart skipped a beat, feeling airy and light like helium. Kai bit his lip, and he wrapped his arms around her, for she was still sitting in his lap.

"Just kiss me already." The elastic was now completely forgotten. Cinder sucked in her breath and craned her neck towards him. She watched Kai close his eyes and tilt his chin upwards, anticipating her lips. Cinder laughed, and her mouth gradually closed the space between them and enveloped his like a blanket. He purred in contentment and they got wrapped up in each other's arms again. The rustling of leaves and the crunching noise became familiar to them as they pressed their lips together like a seal.

"I could do this forever," he mumbled against her lips. His breath was steamy and comforting. Slowly, Kai moved his position so that Cinder was on top of him.

"Mhm." Cinder deeply sniffed his neck as her face burrowed closer to his chest. His cologne smelled of pumpkin spice and rain water. Delicious and refreshing. The crunching of leaves became louder, and the noise halted every few seconds or so, even though Kai and Cinder weren't moving around anymore.

"Kai? Do you hear someone?" Cinder's head perked up, wary and cautious. She swiveled around to find something- anything...

"Cinder," he said, pulling her closer to him. She quickly pecked his forehead and then jerked up again, wriggling out of his arms. A sudden yelp was let loose, but it was rather squeaky and high-pitched. Not from Kai. Now Kai's attention was anchored to the shriek, and they both saw a figure dart away from a nearby, overgrown shrub. A tanned, tall and long-legged and feminine form sprinted away, darting away from the garden and pushing past the doors that led inside. Braids flew behind the person, or Cinder concluded, escort-droid.

"IKO! I'm going to kill her!" she screeched. Iko was staying at the New Beijing palace with her, and she was basically Cinder's assistant on Luna; she was quite helpful, but now Cinder was beginning to wash away the positive things and bring out the negatives. Kai looked mortified, face a deeper shad of red than Scarlet's hair. Irate for being spied on, Cinder stood up abruptly and sprinted into the palace. Her hair whipped about, but she choose to ignore it. Kai swiftly grabbed the ten leaves in his hands (the Levana leaf was only bits and pieces by this point) and followed Cinder, clearly abashed and speechless. The buzzing thoughts of Levana vanished, and in it's place was her momentarily hatred for Iko, the sneaky escort-droid. But, soon enough, after the wild goose chase for Iko and yelling at her for a good twenty minutes, Cinder would find herself relating to Levana and the leaf, again and again...

 _...we all fall down..._

 **A/N: Basically, this is complete. If you'd like a continuation, I may consider it :)** **What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't know what I wrote. I just...it came out of nowhere- there was no plan for this to happen...but...**

 **I was supposed to be studying, and then I got distracted. So, yeah. I decided to quickly bake up a storm for the theme Espionage of the TLC mini ship weeks.**

Iko was _always_ spying on Kai and Cinder, like a lost puppy searching for a bone.

And Cinder was _so_ sick of being a bone.

Because every time Kai and Cinder were talking, hugging, or even kissing, Iko was there to sigh and be the sappy, irritating friend she was. Any form of physical activity or the slightest PDA drove Iko to the fan girl home base.

Just yesterday, Iko was watching them making out in the grass. And if Iko had spied on them in the engine room twice a year ago, the palace three times a week ago, and outside twenty-four hours ago, then Cinder needed to make a statement.

This was war.

So, here Cinder was, acting nonchalant and casual.

"Hey, Iko." She attempted a light-hearted smile, trying hard not to throw up in her mouth from her burning hatred for her friend.

"Cinder. Hey," Iko said, glancing at her from her port screen. Her impeccably smooth eyebrows knitted together and crinkled, forming a long, brown sweater. "Are you off your mad-phase from yesterday?"

Cinder's stomach boiled at Iko's words, but she managed to conceal any signs of anger. "Yeah. I guess."

"Great! So, I'm really excited for the..."

Iko trailed off, going on about how happy she was for some random celebrity's wedding, while Cinder watched her carefully, trying to think of a plan. The light-bulb in those cartoons came on above Cinder's head, and she deviously smiled. It wasn't at all in her nature to do something mischievous, but once in a while, Cinder needed a taste of revenge...

* * *

"So, do you understand now?" Cinder paced in front of Kai's desk in his office, feeling frustrated that he couldn't comprehend anything today.

"Well...this is just immoral, Cinder. It's just-"

"How many times?" she sighed, stringing her hands through her hair.

"What?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"How many times did Iko walk in on us, and you felt mortified?"

"Um. Enough times." Kai's face turned a shade of pink, and he looked like a cheery blossom. Beautiful. But he was being _annoyingly_ beautiful.

"Exactly! What we need is to make a statement, and-"

"Slow down, revolution rebel." He grinned, but once he saw that she didn't take his joke, he let loose a resigned sign.

"Fine. As long as nobody gets hurt," he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Really? Thanks, Kai," she said. Giddily, she pecked her lips against his forehead, and she laughed when he blushed.

* * *

They walked out quietly, slipping like slippery eels from a tank. Kai followed Cinder, looking both ways.

"It's right first, then left," Cinder pointed out. Kai had looked to his left side before his right.

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes. Now, shush," she whispered, placing her titanium index fingers to her lips.

"Great. My love is a spy," he murmured, rolling his eyes. After five minutes of stalking about and tiptoeing around the palace, Kai impatiently groaned.

"What are we even spying on? Iko has no secrets whatsoever."

"Shh. I see her. 12 o'clock." Cinder's eyes narrowed as Iko came into view.

"What? It's past twelve, Cinder," Kai crossed his arms.

"Ugh, you're acting like Thorne. 12 o'clock is in front, this way," she said exasperatedly.

"Oh. Yeah." Kai tried to see the escort-droid better, and as he moved around Cinder...

 _CRASH_. A sudden thud echoed through the hall they were 'spying' in.

"Kai," hissed Cinder. Her nerves, already frazzled, grew chaotic at the thought of being caught.

"Sorry," he whispered. His face was apologetic, and he scuffed his shoes against the pieces of glass from the vase. Of course. As perfect as he was, sometimes Kai just needed that attention. Immediately, Cider checked to see if Iko was looking at them. Nope. Still, she was occupied with her port. Still. What was on her port, anyway?

Once the vase was 'cleaned up', or more of kicked in the corner, Kai and Cinder walked at a snail's pace, and eventually they reached the table Iko was at. Her back was facing them.

"Get down," mouthed Cinder. She crouched to her knees, and he awkwardly did the same. They crawled underneath the table... _almost there, almost there, almost..._

"BOO!" Cinder jumped up from underneath the table, but she wished she didn't. Iko was laughing hysterically, rather than weeping from horror. Cinder felt like a juvenile idiot.

"I heard..." she started, taking deep breaths between giggles, "you...guys the whole...time!" A new round of taunting chortles coursed through the room, zapping Cinder's flesh like lightning.

Kai slowly crawled out from beneath the table and shared a look with Cinder. Cinder, who felt like she could burn Iko with a gaze. Too bad Cinder didn't have those laser eyes. Now those would be helpful. The two were speechless- an angry, abashed, confused speechless. Iko slammed her fists against the table, tittering and shaking her head, multi-colored braids flying. Her port jumped up a bit on the table as she banged.

Cinder then realized...

"Are you on a _dating_ site?" The shock of revulsion that was meant for Iko came to Cider, and she gaped at the port's screen. Swiftly, she whisked the port into her hands. The site shown was _DroidDropsofLove: A Dating Site For All Droids._

"Oh my stars," she laughed. "Kai, check out this guy!" The page was on a profile of a guy named Lucas, who had stunning teeth, if Cinder had to admit. Chuckling, Kai read the description of the man.

"Hi, I'm Lucas Anderson. I'm almost six feet, and I consider myself to be athletic-"

"GIVE IT BACK!" Iko screeched. Her metallic, squeaky voice cut through the air, and Cinder had to lower her audio interface to stop the ringing. Smirking deviously, Kai ran up the stairs with the port.

"ARGHHH!" Iko sprinted after him. "Give it back, you handsome emperor, or I will kiss you to death!"

Sitting down into the chair Iko deserted, Cinder couldn't help but smile.

 _Lucas Anderson, eh?_

 **A/N: Okay...tell me what you think? This is definitely not my best work, I think. I sort of rushed...Anyway, I want to thank Cx3, who motivated me to make this story, even though I probably disappointed her :) Also- This is were I will post the rest of my TLC ship weeks themes. I had the Fall theme one, Fallen Ashes With Leaves, originally as a separate story. I added this in there.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, hello again. Mythology week- such a cool theme, isn't it?**

 **Anyway, here it is...It's a bit rusty... let me know what you guys think. Thanks so much for all of your support. R &R. **

**By the way- sorry for a lot of line breaks coming up. I switched the POV of Cress and Thorne. The first part is Cress's POV up until the line break, then switches to Thorne, and so on. (you'll figure it out. I just explain things in a complicated way.)**

Sacrifices, Son of Aphrodite, and Singing to Mount Olympus

 _Well, love is a mysterious thing. And that's because of Cupid._

It had been at least a week since the battle on the rooftop with Sybil and her guards.

Which meant Wolf was getting more antsy and less content.

Which meant Iko was getting more worried and less talkative.

Which meant Cinder was getting more paranoid and less confident.

Which meant Kai was getting more stressed and less relieved.

Which meant more work for Cress- nonstop hacking codes, watching vids about Luna, researching this and that...

It also meant that Thorne was getting more excited and less bored.

Impossibly, Captain Carswell Thorne was hyped up about the Lunar revolution. Which was rather idiotic and naïve- even Cress knew that he was being naïve. But, regardless, he choose to be confident. He was like the handsome man in the net dramas who kept his cool and managed to save the day without a sweat.

But Cress knew what was going on.

It was so him, she figured. She loved his confidence and gallant behavior, but after knowing him for a few weeks, Cress figured that sometimes he used it to conceal his feelings. Like about how he said he didn't want to love her in order to avoid hurting her feelings. He just had to have some love left, right?

He seemed perfectly fine with everything, but he just had to have some qualms of his own. Right?

Nobody could be that ignorant with a war going on. Especially when he was _still_ blind.

* * *

Carswell Thorne was perfectly fine with everything- or most things.

Okay, maybe he was a bit worried about the war. Maybe he was afraid that one of them would die, or that the revolution would fail and that they would be personally killed from Levana herself.

Perhaps he had a few nightmares.

But Thorne was an easygoing guy, someone who liked to focus on the present, not the future. Which was one of the many reasons why girls dumped him.

Right now, as selfish as it was, Thorne was focused on his feelings for Cress. Internally, he was having constant, bloody, Ares-like battles with his love/neutral feelings for Cress. Crescent Moon- her name as sweet and beautiful as she was. Like he could simply wrap her up in a blanket and love her forever. Honestly, though, Thorne was facing a bit of stinging rejection and confusion.

He thought he loved her. Then again, he had no idea what true love was.

He thought he wanted her. Then again, he technically needed her for help, due to the fact he was blind. _Still_ blind.

To make matters worse, she thought he was a hero. He was no hero- everyone with common sense told him that. His parents, his last girlfriend, his teachers, his friends... So, to sum it up, he feared that she would find out that he was a fool and that she would come to realize that she didn't really care for him at all.

He had plenty of nightmares about this.

Which was why he could be slightly distant around her. He figured that Cress was frustrated with his attitude around her. He was always either very outgoing and flirty, or not in the mood to talk.

Thorne needed to clear this up. At first, it was like adding sand grains to a table- hardly noticeable. But now, he was past the pandemonium and bordering on insanity, just because of his feelings for a girl he met a few weeks ago. He was drowning in all those sand grains, choking and spewing the dry substance out.

... _just because of his feelings for a girl he met a few weeks ago_...

No. Did he really just think of that in his mind? Cress was not _a girl_.

She was innocent like a flower.

She was cunning like a fox.

She was beautiful with what some may call flaws.

She was simply a goddess at heart. A goddess that he couldn't see right now, but he didn't care- she was just as magical and alluring without the looks.

* * *

She ran her fingers through her hair, glaring at the screen. 9 _3602010\. No, that was used already. What about...oh! It needs to be 00160932, it just has to be..._

The screen turned black for the star-billionth time, and it extinguished Cress's remaining flame of hope.

ERROR: CODE 00160932 IS NOT VALID.

The words and numbers mocked her once again. She sighed impatiently. This code for the Lunar place walls was not cooperating with her. She started this three days ago, but nothing- nothing was working. Time was precious; it was running out quickly, like grains of sand slipping through her fingers.

The timer for Thorne's eye drops went off, sounding melodious and cheerful. It was pure irony at this point. Nobody felt as happy as the alarm, not even Iko or Throne himself.

At a snail's pace, she gathered her thoughts and yawned. She stretched up, as far as she could reach, and pretended that she could break out of the ceiling of the Rampion and clasp a single star in her palm. She was living in her fictional, fantasy world, where she could do anything or be anything.

No. She was not living in her fictional world. She never was. Cress needed to realize that, before she found herself thinking that Thorne liked her. Thorne never liked her, from the start.

She made it out of her room and found him laying patiently on the medical bed, in the med bay section.

"Hey," whispered Cress, no strength left in her voice. He peered at the vague direction her voice was coming from, and for a moment, she thought he could see.

"Eye drop time," he said, winking. No, he couldn't see, not yet. Once Thorne was not blind, Cress would laugh and love that moment of success, because Thorne would be able to see- which would be a blessing. At the same time, she was dreading it, because he wouldn't need to depend on her for anything, and what if those ocean-blue eyes simply decided that she was not worthy of him, and what if they found another girl, pretty and tall with silky and smooth, black, long hair...

Cress had many nightmares about this.

 _Focus._ She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yep. It's time. How's your vision?" she asked while fishing out the vial containing the substance. She twisted it open and prepared the eyedropper, squeezing the rubber part.

"Not much better. Sometimes I think I see blobs of things, but I don't know. It's probably wishful thinking," he admitted. For a mere second, Cress saw the real him- gentle and fragile, but that quickly vanished once he schooled his features into the charismatic, charming Thorne.

"How's it going in Cress land?" She pondered his question for a moment, debating whether or she should tell the truth or lie.

Lie. She would lie.

"Oh, it's okay. It's a little tiring, but life's..." The lie rolled off her tongue effortlessly from saying this every time he asked, but today it seemed so weak and pathetic. Her hands shook, and she remembered what he said the first time she was about to place the drops inside of his eyes...

He didn't like shaky things by his eyes.

Well, then he didn't like her. She was shaky, a tornado brewing a storm of messes that kept clashing together.

Cress's life was not at all okay right now. Whose life was? Even Captain's life wasn't exactly on cloud-nine.

"Cress? Are you okay?" his voice echoed a bit in the med bay, concerned and clear.

She ignored him, and she sat down on one of the chairs beside the medical bed. No, she was not okay. She couldn't keep hiding her feelings like this- it was slowly killing her. Carefully, she tightened the vial's lid and eyedropper, gingerly placing it beside her.

"No," she said softly. "I don't think so." The tears came out slowly, and her head ached with each drop off her cheek.

"Cress?" he scrambled off the bed and groped for her.

"Over here," she murmured. Cress shut her eyes, silently glad that he couldn't she her in this awful state. He found her and helped her up with his strong, Hercules-like arm. He carried her onto the medical bed.

"Are you...Stars, Cress. Why are you crying?" His fingers brushed against her cheeks like a summer wind.

"I'm s-sorry," she hiccupped suddenly, and a new round of tears came at her, like bullets from guns. She was being one of those weak, stereotyped girls from the net-dramas, flinging herself over the hero's shoulders and crying like she couldn't stop. She hated those girls.

"Aces and spades, Cress. Why are you apologizing? You know what- forget it. Just spill."

And with that, she spilled everything- or most things. She told him about how worried she was about the revolution, about how she was still working on one code, how she didn't eat breakfast or lunch anymore because she was hacking nonstop, how her brain felt like it was mushed and fried and mushed again...she stopped herself before she got to her lovey-dovey feelings for him. She also made sure that she didn't tell him that she hadn't showered in four days.

He was quiet. He held her in her lap the whole time, rocking her back and forth while she spoke. Maybe he didn't hear a thing she said, from the speed of it and how annoying she must have sounded as she told the truth.

But he reacted, finally. His lips swooped in like a sly bird, and they planted a warm kiss beside her ear.

"I know exactly what you mean." Shocked, she craned her neck towards him. His eyes were tautly closed, and she saw the strong flex of his muscles beneath his neck and in his shoulders.

"What do-"

"Yes. I know. I've been..." He shook his head. "Yeah. I've been hiding in the dark for too long. I know that I was acting fine with things, but honestly..." His expression was in a mode of defeat, and Cress couldn't believe that he- _the_ Carswell Thorne- was finally admitting his falseness. She decided to help him out a bit.

"It's okay. We're all going through that. Pain of the revolution..." sighed Cress. His eyes opened, confused.

"Um. Yeah." His attitude was suddenly distant, and he nodded with a little too much vigor. "Right."

Cress wriggled out of his grasp, feeling stupid. Maybe she was going too far. "Uh, right. Eye drop time."

* * *

He banged his head against the wall, wanting it to shatter in a million pieces. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

How could he? His confidence had faltered, and that would have been the most perfect moment to talk to her about his feelings. He was trying to allude to his love for her, when he started talking about how he was hiding his feelings, but she misinterpreted it for the revolution.

Of course he was upset about the war.

She didn't even take it into consideration that maybe, perhaps he was talking about...

There was only one way to do this thing. He needed to confess how he felt. Abruptly, without another thought, his heart led the way, and he was out of the med bay where Cress was seconds ago.

Hasty typing was heard from her room. He used that to guide himself, and found that her door was ajar. She was mumbling something to herself, and he heard her sniffling.

He hoped that she wasn't crying, or he might have to go to Hades' hell if he heard her deathly upsetting whimpers again. Then, he heard her beginning to sing. A hopeful crescendo, a few crystal-clear notes crawling beneath his skin, melodies climbing a ladder all the way up to Mount Olympus, and honey-ambrosia filling his heart...till she stopped singing and started sniffling again.

"Cress?" He made sure that no part of his body was inside of her room- he didn't want it to look like he was intruding. The typing came to a startled stop.

"Captain?" Cress said. He heard her stumble a bit and finally reach the door. 'What's wrong?" He pictured her, petite and adorably confused, hair in messy knots and eyes moon-wide.

"May I come in?" He made sure that his tone was polite, and he hoped that it didn't seem like he was being too forward.

"Um, yeah. Sure." He assumed that she was blushing. She fully opened the door and granted him permission to enter.

* * *

Once they were settled on Cress's cot bed, he took a deep breath.

"Captain? Is everything..."

"Cress. I think that- well, you know what said in the med bay?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes. About how you were hiding your feelings?"

"Yes. Well, you know...I'm blind." His eyebrows furrowed like a caterpillar, and he looked as if he didn't want to have said that. Where was he going with this? Did he want her to feel bad for him?

"Of course, Captain. I know."

"Yes, and it's ironic that it happened. Want to know why?"

"Um, sure?"

"Because, Crescent," he said, making a gesture towards her, "love is blind."

She gaped at him, unsure where he was going. Was this just friend-flirting, or something on a larger scale? Her cheeks burned, and if he couldn't see them, he must certainly have felt the heat. Was he saying that he loved her? If he did, then why did he act casual around her? Or maybe he was saying that he was as wonderful as love itself? Questions zoomed around in her mind, and she attempted to bat them away with a mental fly swatter.

She started with an 'oh, okay.'

"No, wait! That came out wrong. Uh, do you know mythology?" he asked quickly.

"Mythology?"

"Yes, you know, Before-Era myths told by the Greeks and Romans, those-"

"Yes. I know." Cress knew enough about mythology- one of the net-dramas she had watched on the satellite was all about it.

"Okay. So you know Cupid, Aphrodite's son?"

"Yes, the little boy who shoots love arrows?" Cress was still unsure as to where this was going.

"Yep, him," Thorne said. He paused, and he smiled. "Well, love is a mysterious thing. And that's because of Cupid."

His words reverberated in her body.

Love is a mysterious thing.

His feelings conflicted around her.

His allusion to mythology...Cupid.

Oh, stars.

"Do you...Are you-" She blinked up at him.

"Wait. I'm not finished," he said apologetically. His hand fastened around hers. "Love is blind, and that's why Cupid wears a blindfold. And I wore a blindfold, remember? And we- I, well. I believe I am in love with you, Crescent."

The heat rushed to her face, leaving the rest of her body cold and stone. He loved her?! Since when? And how? And why? Oh my stars, oh my stars, oh my stars...

She was pretty sure she fainted.

* * *

Thorne nestled her body in his arms, enjoying the way she felt while she was asleep. She passed out, and at first he thought that she died from shock, but her pulse was beating at a nice rate.

He couldn't believe he just said that. Exposed himself with vulnerability- admit his feelings to a girl he really liked.

No, not a girl. A goddess- one not of innocence, wisdom, or even beauty. Sure, she was all of those things. But he concluded that she was so much more.

And he didn't really like her. He loved her. He wanted and needed her- he would even after Cupid decided that their love was no longer blind. She stirred slightly in his arms, and her fingers curled on his shirt collar, tugging subconsciously.

Crescent. His Crescent Moon. Better than any goddess.

A thought struck him as he stroked Cress's hair back. A random thought- his friends as gods.

Cinder would be some goddess like Athena, and Scarlet like Artemis. Kai would be the god loved by all mortals, like Apollo. Wolf would probably be Hades (okay, Thorne knew that was a stretch, but at this point, Wolf was practically dying. Maybe he would be some really strong, cool god when he was happy.) and Thorne would obviously be someone like Zeus or Hercules. Obviously.

Then, his mind wandered off to imaging other people as gods or goddess. That lady on the news would be Iris, the rainbow-messenger goddess, and Kate Fallow would possibly be Aphrodite (but Cress was much prettier), and...

What about the queen on the moon?

Was Levana like Aphrodite, or Hera? Aphrodite for her impossible, unspeakable beauty. Or Hera- power-hungry Hera who wanted to divide and conquer.

Levana was definitely Hera, in his opinion. Evil always overcame beauty in a person. And Thorne would not let Hera take his Cress away.

He would be stronger than Zeus while fighting; he wouldn't fight for his life- he'd actually make a sacrifice. For his goddess, his love.

 _His Crescent Moon. Better than any goddess._

 _...he'd actually make a sacrifice. For his goddess, his love._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh my stars, this is my first ever AU. It was a challenge, but I did it. (In this AU, Ran and Wolf/Ze'ev are not wolf hybrids. It takes place present-day.)**

A Sunset With A Deeper Beauty

The anticipated ring of the doorbell coursed through the dorm room, echoing in Z's ears. She was here. Ran stood up from the couch and smirked at Z. He grabbed the van car keys off from the shelf. The keys jingled in his hands, taunting and tittering at Ze'ev. Ran was nearly halfway out the door, before Z pulled him back inside, yanking on his brother's hoodie.

"Keep her safe, will you," he said, his eyes pleading more than the tone of his voice. Ran sneered mockingly.

"Just stay out of my business, for once. I'll keep my morsel safe," assured Ran. His lip curled disgustingly at his brother, and he wriggled out of Z's firm grasp. Ze'ev let him go, and the front door slammed in front of his face. Quickly, Z stared out of the window to see her and Ran. As a gentleman, he opened the passenger door for her, then hopped in the driver's seat. Unnecessarily, Ran kissed her- on the lips, too- for a full five seconds before starting the car and driving away.

What a jerk. Ran just knew that he would look out the window, and he just had to rub it in his face that he was dating Scarlet.

Scarlet. She was, to simply put it, beautiful. Everything from the way she moved, the way she held herself with genuine aplomb, the way the mass ringlets of her hair matched the hue of her moon-sized lips... Ze'ev meet her this year. They went to the same college, and they were both juniors. She was a sassy girl, a smart aleck, and she had a confident demeanor. Not to mention, she was a pretty student from France. And every man, including some of the younger professors, competed for her. Including Z himself. Including Ran, too. But Z didn't fall for her the way the other guys- only using their eyes- did. Sure, she was unarguably the most attractive woman he had ever laid eyes on. She was like a slim model, but with curves. That's why everyone went for her.

Z thought she was a deeper beautiful. They became fast friends, and they balanced each other out. Scarlet, with her strong personality, and Z, with his slightly shy behavior. Together, Z and Scarlet made a great team. She was kind-hearted, protective, passionate, and just _perfect_. At times, Z was sure that their feelings for each other were mutual.

Then Ran, who was a freshmen in the same college, began flirting nonstop with her...

His brother, of all people. It just had to be that womanizer guy who thought he was _all that_. To Ran, she was just another goal, another trophy. Another 'morsel'.

And that was when Ze'ev lost his battle. Because now Ran and Scarlet were _dating_. He shuddered at the revolting thought. He wished for Scarlet's happiness, and if this dating thing made her happy, then he would be happy. But, no. This was crossing the boundaries. He had urged her, begged her, inveighed against her dating with his brother. Which was why Scarlet was angry at Z, because he told her (accidentally) that she was being naïve. And now he had to pay the price- she wouldn't look at him, less talk to him, at all. A single glance during class only happened once since he told her to stay away from Ran.

Ran and Scarlet were going out to the movies. Which, in Ze'ev's mind, was such a cliché place to date. Everyone went to watch movies for a first date. If Scarlet were dating him, he would have taken her to some place different, like the shore or something. They would walk hand in hand across the boardwalk, laughing and drunk on each other's love. The sun would kiss the sky at dusk, and the ocean would stop it's roaring from their unstoppable, radiating love. The wind would blow her curls back, and he'd say something romantic, and she would blush...then, he would kiss her, softly.

 _Just once._

And she would kiss him back, and she would say something romantic, like in those movies...

The sappy daydream burst like a bubble in his mind, and he felt stupid. If Ran was a jerk, then Z was an idiot. These things only happened in books or television shows. He could wish all he wanted, but if Z did nothing about it, there was no way he would get Scarlet. No way. He needed to try. But trying seemed so futile now, and slowly, Z backed away from the window. Reality finally dawned on him, and he inhaled deeply as he sat down on the couch. What was he supposed to do, give up?

No. No way. He loved her too much to give her up. And Z knew just the number to call. He shook his head, attempting to clear his cluttered thoughts, but it only served to make his hair more disheveled.

His hair...He remembered the way Scarlet used to run her fingers in his hair and kiss the tips...

Dang. Everything reminded him of Scarlet. Hastily, he found his friend's number on his phone and called.

* * *

"So, basically, you want help?" Cress's voice asked, seeming smaller and higher than usual on the phone.

"Yes," he said impatiently. "You know how I feel about her."

"Your alpha." He heard her giggle.

"We went through this already," groaned Z. His cheeks flushed. He didn't enjoy discussing his feelings for Scarlet, but in times, he spilled his emotions out to Cress, who was an expert on this relationship-love-dating stuff.

"I just think it's so adorable that you secretly call her that! I never pegged you as the romantic type, partially due to your height and your masculine features. Honestly, at first I thought you meant that she was your brightest star, but you were insinuating that she was your mate- like because your name means 'wolf', and-"

"Cress. Help, please?"

"Ah, right." She giggled again before clearing her throat. "Okay, so...Clearly, she likes Ran."

"Do you need to state the obvious?"

"Do you want help or not? I'm just-"

"Fine," he grumbled. "Go on."

"So, what I did when I was upset that Carswell choose Kate Fallow over me...Okay, don't laugh. Promise that you won't laugh?" she asked.

"I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Yes, Cress. Just tell me." Sometimes, he wondered why he was friends with such a girl, until he realized that most girls acted this way.

"Well, I went to the place I pictured us. Sure, it was a bit depressing at first, but I felt like it really helped," she said. He was silent for a moment.

"Where'd you go?" His mind raced as he thought about where Cress imagined her and Carswell.

"The mountains," she sighed dreamily. Ze'ev chuckled, breaking his promise, and he quickly bit his lip to stop. The mountains? Yeah, right.

"You're joking, right?" An awkward pause filled the phone as he said this.

"No. I actually went to the mountain-"

"Cress! You went all the way there just to think about Thorne?" He groaned, and he tried not to laugh again. Cress. That was so Cress.

"Well, if you pictured Scarlet and you at the mountains, you would go there too. Right?" she challenged. His heart faltered, and he bit his lip.

"Um. Well..."

"Ha! I told you!" He could picture Cress, two heads shorter than him, crossing her arms like she ruled the world. In some ways, she did- she was such an awesome friend.

"'You're too smart for me, Cress. Thanks for the help," he said genuinely.

"No problem. Good luck," responded Cress. Z heard another voice in the background...a guy's voice...

"Is that...Thorne?" Cress squeaked nervously as he asked his question.

"Gotta go," she said quickly, and the phone beeped twice to notify the end of the call. That Crescent. He laughed a bit to himself as he opened the dorm room's door.

* * *

He felt a little queasy as he sprinted to the shore by the college. The college he attended, College of Luna, was right on the edge of land, by the ocean. If one were to go on the outskirts of the campus, one could be amazed by the beauty of the shoreline and the sea. The water glittered like sapphires, and the sand shone like gold. Even though Z's heart melted into the wondrous scene, a part of him felt like he needed to vomit.

Scarlet was somewhere else, with Ran. And here Z was, taking Cress's advice, pretending like a child. This was rather depressing, as Cress had put it. His shoulders heaved as Ze'ev took a deep breath, inhaling the mist and the ocean spray. He scrambled on the sand, kicking bits of sand and rocks out of the way with his sneakers. He choose a random spot to sit in the sand, and he felt stupid for not bringing anything with him, other than his phone. He should've bought a towel, a water bottle, maybe sunscreen... Checking the time on his phone, he began to wonder about when Ran would come back. It was approximately 6:00, and the movie- some dumb, action-love movie- was two hours long. His brother left at 4, and the movie started at 4:30...Which meant in about 30 minutes or longer, Ran would be back. Great. That was enough time to daydream, right?

The clouds were long and stretched across the light blue sky, yawning as they traveled past the ocean. The sun was slowly starting to set, creating a golden aura of pink and orange cascading in all directions. It was so beautiful, a deeper beauty that lied beneath it, one that could not be seen. Like Scarlet. Moaning, he closed his eyes, trying not to feel the physical pain she brought when he merely thought of her. Maybe she was no good for him. Maybe he should just forget that anything happened.

Which would be, at the very least, impossible.

Footsteps crawled and inched towards him; Z felt and heard noises crunching along the sand. He decided to ignore them, and he lied down on his back, admiring the clouds mingling together. But something felt off- like there was something wrong. His attuned ears no longer heard the sound of footsteps.

Something- or perhaps someone- tugged lightly on his hair. A gesture that seemed so familiar, but no, it couldn't be her, it just couldn't...

He flipped off his back, and he swiftly lifted his face up, towards _his_ sunset. Scarlet.

His heart pounded like there was no tomorrow, and his face fell into the sand. Coughing and spewing out sand grains, he adjusted his position so that he was face to face with her.

"You got sand on your face," she said softly, her hands brushing along his mouth and cheeks. The pulse in his body froze; he was certain that he died and lived and died again. Her voice was hoarse and not at all Scarlet-like. Tear stains were imprinted on her cheeks, and she was wearing skinny jeans and her favorite red hoodie. Despite her sorrowful look and casual clothing, she looked like an angel.

"Scar..." The rest of her name collapsed off his tongue, and his voice dissipated. He watched her carefully, and her fingers trailed along his neck, making his chest flutter and feel tingly. What was she doing here- was this another one of his dreams? Was he hallucinating? Have these silly daydreams turned into something bordering on insanity? She smiled sadly at him. Just the look of her- fragile and broken like shattered glass- was enough to make him die. His voice regained it's strength.

"How- why...What are you doing here?" His eyebrows drew together to form a line, and he frowned at her fingers, toying with his shirt collar. She hadn't touched him in a full week- ever since he chastised her for liking Ran.

"The movie," she started slowly, "wasn't that great." She finally let go of him, and he wanted to scoop her up in his lap, but he restrained himself. He must've looked puzzled, so she continued. "I didn't like it, Z."

"Then why are you here? You could've went with him to another place, or-"

"Stop." Sudden tears dripped from her eyes. His heart shattered in a billion of pieces as she wept helplessly in front of him. "Stop," she wailed. 'I lied, okay. The movie wasn't that bad. It's Ran. I hate him!" she shrieked madly, hugging her knees self-consciously, looking like a lost girl in the woods. Ze'ev couldn't help but start to feel helpless, too. Ran, the big, bad wolf. Anger boiled inside of him, and the contents of his controlled hatred for his brother poured everywhere.

"What'd he do?" Z snarled. He searched around them, looking to see a man with a sneer on his face. Ze'ev imagined a hundred different scenarios, ranging from insults to abuse...

"He's not here. I grabbed his keys and took his car," she started. Z's focus was back to her. "He left me. Called me a tender morsel, whatever _that_ means. Found another person and just pushed me like...like I was some dog," she whispered, tears going into her mouth. He stared at her solemnly, anger suddenly wiped out. He almost pitied her, weak and so unlike the strong Scarlet he knew. She must've felt mortified, hurt, and stupid. How everyone Ran manipulated felt. Her eyes shut tight, and she started laughing.

"You were right," she chuckled dryly. "Tell me you were right, and tell me that I was being naïve and impulsive." She wiped her tears away, and she opened her eyes. Her wide, amber-liquid irises bore into him, and he sighed.

"No. I want you to do whatever you want. I'm not going to put you on a leash, like you're my pet. If you want some guy, go for him." It was hard to say, to burrow the bile for his bother and the obvious truth he told Scarlet. But if Scarlet wanted someone like Ran, he wouldn't force her to not do it. He'd caution her, but she was not his property.

He didn't do things the way Ran did.

Scarlet peered up at him. "What if I want you to stop me from doing stupid things?"

"Then I'll do it. Whatever you want."

"What if I went for you?" Her question sunk in his mind. _What if she went for me..._ His heart grew back, taping itself together and mending the wounds.

"Maybe...Maybe I've been going for you for a long time." Her eyes grew wider, and he smiled.

"And maybe I wanted you more than I wanted him," she said. It was so like Scarlet to say something as strong as that, and he was glad that she was returning to her normal personality again.

"Really?" he teased, secretly wondering if her words were true.

"It's going to seem like I'm a jerk, but I was a little afraid to pick you. I wasn't sure if you actually liked me, and it was clear that Ran liked me- or did like me...No, he didn't like me. He just choose me for the same reason every guy does," she said petulantly.

"No. I didn't choose you for that reason." Their eyes met, and they broke apart, flustered. Subconsciously, they leaned in, and after a while, he found himself underneath Scarlet's body, holding her tight as her lips pressed a kiss against his mouth.

 **A/N: My first attempt to an AU. I suppose you could say the characters are a little OOC...but I tried :) The quote 'Just once' is from the book Scarlet, written by Marissa Meyer.**

 **Thanks for reading! I also want to thank everyone for your support for this story and my other one, which will hopefully be updated in a few days...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: OH MY STARS! LAST DAY OF THE TLC MINISHIP WEEKS...I'm internally crying. Well, this is the revolution theme. R &R. (Up until the first line break is in Levana's POV. Then cinder's, and so on. This is loosely connected to the first chapter- this serves almost as a prologue to it.) **

Glitches in a Game of Chess

It was her.

Just the queen, and her niece. Her ugly-duckling niece.

Levana suddenly cackled, a smile curling at the edges of her blood-red lips. She could see and hear the girl's breathing accelerate.

The girl was _nervous._

She laughed again, the noise clear as day, ringing throughout the throne room. Levana crossed her long legs, amused. Her white, regal dress swooped around her, like a dove's wings.

"Why, what a surprise. I've been waiting for you," she said, voice as sweet and fake as artificial sugar. Indeed, Levana had been waiting long for her niece to come. And here she was, looking insignificant and vulnerable, so vulnerable. Trapped with the person who wanted her most dead. Lovely how things turned out- the cunning queen knew that she would be able to get Selene by herself, isolated her from the rest of them...after all, this was only a game. A game of war and gore and hatred- moving the queen's chess piece to kill the pawn, that's all it was...

"I'm here to stop you," the girl started, voice teetering a bit like a drunk man, but Levana caught her off short with another laugh. This time, she tilted her head dramatically and hysterically shrieked like a madman.

This was, of course, all part of her strategic plan. Get Selene feel scared, hurt- change the atmosphere of confidence and strength to bloodlust and fear. The girl, she saw in her peripheral vision, was gripping her fists toughly against her sides. Her fists- one so deformed that she needed metal plating. A wave of pride and empowerment coursed through Levana's veins, and she relapsed into her original composure- collected, queen-like, and proper. But it did nothing to stop the fires burning and flames tonguing inside of her body, agonizing coals and deathly pyres and bloody hot embers shaking.

"Shall we get to business, _Cinder_?" she screamed, tasting her niece's name in her mouth. Cinder. Ashes and filth. Soot and dust. Unwanted and disfigured.

Almost how Levana felt.

Hastily, she viciously vacuumed up her slightly sympathetic thoughts. No, she never really felt like that. Remember, she had Evert.

 _Evert._ His long-ago, warm smile invaded her mind, and again she cleared away her conflicting feelings. Her wedding band. She slipped it quietly off her finger and dropped it to the floor, relishing in the noise it made as it softly clattered. She didn't need that thing anymore.

The girl stood up straighter, and making a risky move, began her bioelectricity. Selene's lasso tightened around Levana, but only for a mere second. Smugly, the queen smirked. She was going to win- this would be an easy move.

Idiotic of the girl. How stupid she was. Just like Channary.

 _Come here, baby sister. I want to show you something._

* * *

Her head ached and pounded against her skull, reverberating and hammering against her bones.

She shivered, tangible shudders crawling like tarantulas under the thin clothing she wore. She was not prepared, not trained well enough, not ready... And worse was- Levana knew it, too.

But reality was relentless and evil, wanting a silly girl to die. And she was that silly girl. Cinder was being pathetic and hopeless; she was so messed up and was going to screw up this revolution.

She fought back, hissing in anguish as her aunt pressed her control over her again and again. Levana's milky-white palms were folded innocently together, and her face was serene and beautiful. Beautiful as in glamoured cheekbones and a ski-slope nose and arched, impeccable eyebrows and wide, auburn irises. Overall, she was flawless.

But beneath, Cinder knew there were some flaws. If she stared at the queen long enough, fault lines popped up and the orange light went off in the corner of her eye. She recalled the faults at the ball. Of course, she couldn't truly see the queen's appearance; she only saw lines not matching up to the glamour and such. Still, the thought that she wasn't perfect was comforting.

The feeling of resignation and torture overcame her body, squeezing her limbs till they were sore, and she crumpled to the ground like a brown paper bag. She began to choke from not being able to breath, choke and cough and fight to live, fight for life.

She needed to- needed to fight, needed to live, and she was so desperate to get back to her allies and..

No, she wasn't. Truth to be told, Cinder just wanted to die. Forget that this ever happened. Maybe she should just pretend that she was weaker than a duckling, weaker than a feather, and she could vanish and pretend that nothing was wrong with her.

Which was, to sum up in one word, a fantasy. If that were to happen, Cinder would be pegged as a selfish girl, and she wasn't selfish. She would give up anything for anyone.

So she kept fighting, working and wailing, sweat beads forming and then dripping off, then forming again. Her shirt was drenched with sweat and exertion, and her hair was in thousands of knots and unruly tangles. So many times warning diagnostics came up in her vision, and too many times she blinked them away. Her cyborg mind was going to shut down soon enough.

Or maybe she would really die. An image flashed in her mind- Kai. If she died, he wouldn't be able to bear her death. And everyone else, not just her allies, but the whole world would be doomed. Levana would get what she wanted again, like a spoiled child in a candy shop.

This served to make Cinder angrier, and her wrath bubbled over. Her chest heaved heavily, battling against human nature. Her limbs shook and writhed on the floor, and foams and strings of saliva started to form around her mouth like rabid spittle from a diseased dog. She was in this state, while Levana was sitting on a throne, perfectly content with what was going on.

Cinder was not going to be some pawn. She was not going to be another one of the queen's chess pieces. Oh, she was so over going through that- her entire life she went through manipulation and hatred. Even in a state of lassitude, she managed to get her hand- her metal hand- over the windowsill of the throne room. Helplessly, it collapsed to the floor. Cinder glanced up to see the queen grin- a Cheshire-cat smile starting. Cinder tried again, and her hand caught onto the sill. This time, her grip was strong.

And so was her vigor- her strength slowly renewing at an exhausted pace, but nonetheless it was coming back. Her hand of flesh now grasping the sill, her legs that were splayed out in front of her were crawling, and she was beginning to stand up...

 _It's you. It's just_ you _, and you don't think that's manipulative?_

* * *

Impossible. The little nuisance was up on her feet, ready to annoy her as a gnat flying in front of her face.

She sneered at her, wanting her dead more than before. "You're up," she stated. "Well, congratulations. We have all day and all night and _forever_ to abuse each other." The queen's control started again, and she grasped Selene's thoughts together, pinching every corner of her mind. The girl faltered for a moment, and Levana was sure that she had her, but she straightened herself.

The girl was fighting back.

Levana felt a slight, tiny spider-web crack in her brain, and eventually the hairlines of glass breaking evolved into a shattered jar. Selene's power was closing in on her, and how she was doing it was a terrible mystery to the queen. Levana desperately pushed the girl out of her, and she focused on every single detail on Selene. She stumbled and cried out, and for a second, the queen was content.

But the girl was up _again **,**_ and she was breathing like she erupted to the surface of water after drowning. Drivel flew out of her mouth, and she looked like demons possessed her. Selene's mouth curled and she looked beautiful, an ugly, indescribable beauty that drove people insane.

Levana's heart raced, and she finally realized what she was up against. This was Channary's daughter, and she was never going to stop. Ruthless and determined, idiotic and vengeful. The queen's weary eyes misted and fogged, and she took a shaky breath. The girl was stronger than she thought; perhaps Levana had underestimated her. As Levana narrowed her eyes in pure concentration, she realized something- something worse than Channary herself.

If Levana wanted to win this war- or at least try to-, then she would need to let go of her glamour.

Her glamour- her pride. Her everything, her cover-up and concealer.

She couldn't let go of the only thing that she knew was true in this world. Her lies. She needed them.

But as time slipped by, parts of her disappeared. First her soft-looking hands, her long neck, her wavy hair, then her eyes...

Her appearance glitched. Mirages were created from past glamours- past glamours from years ago swirled together to create a mess. Solstice-that cursed Sol- with her dark skin and her ruby lips, the pale-ghost girl she wore on her birthday was in there, the cropped hair from the funeral was mixed in, too, and so many other features kept moving on her flesh...

 _They were intense and melting and struggling so hard to stay strong._

* * *

Cinder gasped in horror and revulsion. She didn't pay heed to how Levana was reacting until now; up until this point, Cinder was focusing on the combat.

Levana. Cinder cursed as her legs collapsed on the floor again. The face infringed her brain, etching itself permanently in her memory. She shut her eyes, and another pain bloomed, this time over her spine. The queen- she was glitching. There were defects all over her face- different skin tones all over her body, irises clashing together from different hues, her hair partially short and long, her arms different lengths, her waist slim but her stomach bulging like a pregnant woman's, and so on. Everything a different length...It was extremely terrifying, and Cinder wanted this to be over. Her eyelids flipped open, and she quickly shut them again, wishing that she had kept them closed.

Her aunt looked different now- but worse. This time, it was _much_ worse. The mirage or whatever it was faded into a more proportionate person, but it was so _bad_. Cinder wanted to cry so badly, and she felt something sticky and warm pooling out of her right ear. Blood trickled down and hit her shoulder like rain. Curling up into a ball while still trying to maintain her control, Cinder screamed as loud as she could, nearly depleting the little energy she had left. A sudden round of naseua hit her, and vomit was up and out her throat. Levana- her left eye bruised and shut tight like a door, her hair gray and patchy, her scalp burnt and crimson and ebony, her face looked like a lion had scratched it up, and red scars were trailed all over her- these were so much more than those little disfigurements Cinder had remembered from the festival at New Beijing.

This was not right. This was the work of fire. Of flame.

With her eyes still closed, Cinder stood up again, and blood was now dripping out of her other ear. Puke clung to her clothing, but Cinder didn't even wipe it off.

"I know," she said. Her voice was so tiny among the chaos, but it echoed in the otherwise silent room. "I know about ashes from- from you. I know." Gradually, Cinder's eyes opened, and she found the queen smiling at her.

A smile that made Cinder want to hide and disappear- a smile so evil and grotesque and one that could slaughter the whole face of Earth. She didn't think Levana could talk anymore, but she coughed harshly.

A sign that she wouldn't give up. And neither would Cinder.

The battle had felt like eons had passed, but Cinder's internal clock told her two hours had gone by- only two hours. In two hours, so much had happened. Eventually, Cinder felt Levana's control beginning to decline; it was waning and wobbly.

Levana was writhing in agony, and waves of weakness were flashing out from her. She fell out of her throne chair, face first, and her dress train was now pleated and no longer neat. It exposed her legs, and those were marred and haunting as well.

Cinder didn't want it this way. She thought she would be ecstatic when Levana died in front of her. But now that it was happening, she felt like she was the evil one.

Then again, maybe Levana was making her think this. Cinder shook her head. Levana was no longer. Her control had diminished like the light blown out from a candle. It- she was gone.

Solemnly, she walked a few steps, testing her leg strength, before awkwardly and tiredly walking over to Levana. To check if she was really dead. Tentatively, Cinder held her aunt's wrist in her palm. No pulse. She dropped the cold wrist away, shivering. She killed her- the little pawn beat the queen. Something buckled in her knees, and she fell to the floor- a feeling of success and guilt. Her hands led her, lifting a strand of hair away from the woman's face. Cinder grimaced but she stopped herself. Her aunt was dead. And she was abused. Like her.

She wasn't sure if she should do this, but she did it anyway. Cinder planted a soft, brief kiss on the queen's forehead.

It was stupid of her to do that. Immediately, she rubbed her lips with her palm. But she was overcome with mercy, and the queen...Dead. _Gone._ She went through the same thing Cinder undergone- who made her burnt and why? Why did she choose to do this to her niece- the same way as she had gotten hurt? Questions ached in Cinder's mind, and she abruptly lifted herself up to leave. This place was too haunting; she could not take it anymore. Levana's real appearance- of flame and coals...

The game of chess was won.

 _She was the fairest queen Luna had ever know._

 **A/N: That was a bit dreary... And a weird take on the revolution...**

 **Anyway, the italicized quotes before each new line break are from Fairest, written by Marissa Meyer.**


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